Don’t look now: Shutdown looming

WASHINGTON – Bipartisan talks aimed at resolving the border security/wall dispute, and averting another government shutdown Feb. 15, have broken down, according to multiple sources speaking to media on Feb. 10. “I'm not confident we're going to get there," Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman and lead Republican negotiator, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said on "Fox News Sunday." Lawmakers had been trying to finalize a dollar amount that could go to barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump wants $5.7B, but lawmakers offered between $1B-to-$2B. Also Democrats want to cap (reduce) the number of detention beds to limit detention activities of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The question of the ICE beds led to the impasse, according to sources familiar with the talks. Republicans seek a way to exclude violent criminals from the cap. “It's all over the map (status of the talks) because of the Democrats," White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on "Meet the Press." The president “will do something about it," he said. Multiple fed agencies including Homeland Security are operating on a short-term spending bill Trump signed Jan. 25 to end the last 35-day shutdown. That shutdown was also caused by the refusal of Democrats to provide funding for border security/wall. Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress, but that option faces GOP opposition and legal hurdles. The president is scheduled to travel to El Paso, Texas, for a rally Feb. 11 and is widely expected to focus on demands for a border wall. (Source: Washington Post 02/10/19)